So you’re a single student in college and you need some serious cash to be able to go back to school after the summer. But you don’t want to sell security systems or pest control. Do you have to go to work in the local burger joint?
Heck no! There are myriad excellent jobs for college students who are on summer break. We can break these jobs into two categories: outdoor and indoor.
Outdoor jobs
The temperature is awesome, the sun is out, the world is bursting with color and you don’t want to work indoors. No problem. Here are some great outdoor jobs that most college students can land:
*National Parks. National parks always hire a bunch of seasonal staff at the beginning of the summer. These seasonal employees fill spots such as guide, maintenance worker, and others. The coolest of these jobs is the guide job, but any of them are good. The pay is not bad and you can usually get out into the park on your days off with no problem. If you go to a major national park like the Grand Canyon, you can actually end up making good money by waiting tables. I knew a lady who worked at one of the big lodges at the Grand Canyon who made almost $20,000 in one summer working the late shift.
*Forest Service. Summer is a big time of the year for the Forest Service, especially in the central west and west of the U.S.A. Forest fire season shows up as soon as the ground and plants dry out, and the Forest Service needs people to fill out the ranks of their permanent fire fighters. With some training, you can be out building fire breaks and making great overtime and hazard pay. Sure, there is a bit of danger, but if you are an adrenaline junky, this job is for you. Just make sure you look into it early on, because these are popular positions.
*Summer Cruises. Sure, you will not always be outdoors, but you will be on a massive boat in the middle of the ocean. These cruise ships go anywhere from Alaska to Mexico and further, and they always need attendants, entertainment and other kinds of workers. They usually start looking to fill these spots in the mid-winter, so keep your eyes open. The great thing is that you end up saving good money because you get some overtime and don’t have many opportunities to spend your wages.
*Fishing boat in Alaska. If you don’t mind getting wet and smelly, this is an awesome job that is full of adventure. There is about one job for college students on a fishing boat: do what they tell you. You might be hauling or repairing nets, cleaning lines and winches, or cleaning pounds and pounds of halibut and salmon. Usually you can make some money on the side after you put into port. Most of the piers, like in Homer, have big fish cleaning tables. Once you are good and fast at cleaning a fish, you can charge a dollar or two a fish and end up making fifty dollars or more per day when the tourists ask you to clean the fish they caught. Overtime is a fact of life in this job, but it is easy to fritter away money in Alaska, as it is both fun and expensive to live there.
*Amusement parks. Disneyland, Disneyworld, Sea World, Six Flags and many zoos hire a lot of extra staff in the summer. The pay is medium to good and the fun to be had is stellar! What is more, you end up gaining experience with customer service and this is actually a great addition to your resume. Some of these bigger places sometimes offer subsidized housing and can help you get roommates.
But outdoor jobs aren’t the only great summer jobs! Read on:
Indoor jobs
*Bellman in a big hotel. If you go to an area that has a lot of summer package tours, you should try to land a job as a bellman in a big hotel. The gratuity contracts that the bellstaff and the tour companies arrange can usually put anywhere from $15,000 to $25,000 in a bellman’s pocket for a summer. The work is challenging, but you will get strong and will be able to spend some time outside as you work with the luggage. However, this is a job that is hard to get, so start looking early on.
*Motorcoach driver. Alaska, the Southwest, and several other areas get lots of package tourists visiting them. The tour companies that sell these packages need drivers to ferry the tourists from place to place. You can usually get up to twenty and even thirty hours of overtime on these jobs, and you end up spending the night in places on the company’s tab about half of the time. What is more, you get to see some of the most spectacular vistas this earth has to offer. Most tour companies are looking to fill these spots in about March. They train in April and get their drivers working in early to mid-May.
*Summer internships. These jobs may not be as fun or cool as the ones mentioned so far, but for the college student who is extra focused on his or her career, they may be the right choice. Many summer internships, like most internships, do not pay. But the experience you get and the connections you make are invaluable.
So there you have it: a list of jobs that can make your summer lucrative, fun and handy for your career. Good luck!
